Reviewed by Dannielle Viera
All over the world, kids and their families celebrate the Christmas and New Year season in many different ways. ‘Yonatan strolls in the snow to see Old City windows glow’, while ‘On St Basil’s Day, George will wake, ready to bake the New Year’s cake’. There are dances and dragons, fireworks and feasts, lanterns and lights. Although they may seem unrelated, these traditional festivities share one important element – they mark the end of one year and the start of another with unbridled happiness and hope.
Following on from the success of What Do You Call Your Grandpa?, Ashleigh Barton turns her attention to the ways we observe the holidays. Using the comforting pattern of rhyming couplets, she takes readers aged four and older on a journey from decorated department-store windows in Sydney to the Junkanoo parade in the Bahamas and the Lunar New Year in China. The evocative text is explained in more detail at the end of the book, offering a helpful dose of history and context.
With
the strong colours and dynamic lines in her illustrations, Martina Heiduczek
adds a cheerful and compelling layer to the book. Pyrotechnics whiz across the
pages, while processions explode with painted faces and vivid costumes.
Children remain at the forefront of each image, ensuring a solid connection
between the young reader and the various protagonists.
Playful
and visually appealing, What Do You Do To
Celebrate? is sure to be read not only at Christmas but also right through
the year. It revels in the universality of joy and love, and rejoices in
humanity’s mutual enthusiasm for fun, food and frivolity.
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